Blame It On The Changes
by x0TheDarkSlayer0x
Summary: ./Femmeslash/Alt Universe/. Buffy and Faith have been best friends for 13 years. What happens when hormones become overwhelming, and both girls have to deal with their new feelings? Who will crack first? Full o' Fuffy fluff, and some eventual smut!
1. Chapter 1

**-BPOV-**

I sat in class, my mind helplessly wandering to thoughts of my best friend. _Naughty_ thoughts. Of my _female_ best friend.

What's wrong with me? I never used to think like this before! Well, maybe sometimes, but it was always fleeting and I'm sure it never meant anything. Not like I know it does now. I mean, there's no way thoughts of her straddling me in my chair right here in nothing but a black lacy thong could _not_ mean something!

I guess I should have known it would happen eventually... I mean we've always been so close, and I've cared for her so much... She's always been my whole world, from the moment we met. It's just weird how much worse these thoughts get as time goes by. They started pretty innocent several years ago, but now... _Wow...__  
_

As I sat there, my naughty thoughts continuing and growing more intense, the source of said thoughts tapped on the window right next to me, surprising me so much I actually flew off the seat. Thankfully though the window was open, so she just reached in and pulled me back up before I could get too close to actually hitting the ground, therefore saving me the embarrassment. Though I think she knew she was going to scare me, why else would she have reacted so quickly? What a jerk!

"Faith, what on earth are you doing?" I whispered angrily, trying not to bring any more attention to us, though I'm pretty sure everyone's already looking. I think some of them were even waiting for it, because they seem too interested.

"School is boring. I decided we're gonna ditch today." She shrugged, as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. I guess for us, it isn't.

"We've already ditched twice this week, do you _want_ to get us grounded?"

"Yes." She grinned, dimples on full display. I swear my heart just skipped a beat.

_I love when she smiles at me like that, it's so cute! Wait... she just said something I should be mad at, didn't she?_

"Well I'm not going to get in trouble - _again_, I might add - just because you're bored."

It's true, I can't even begin to count all the times me and Faith have gotten into some serious trouble just because she got bored. Or restless. Or whatever it is that makes her want to go out and cause some mayhem. And I always get dragged into it as her partner in crime, because for as long as we've been friends I just have never been able to say no to her. At least it's always fun... last time we snuck into a Freak Wharf concert, and she got me a shirt. I didn't ask how she got it and she didn't tell me. I think it's best that way.

"C'mon B, I know you're just as bored as I am! I'm doin' us both a favor here. Now hurry up, who knows when someone'll come in to call off the class!"

"What did you do this time?" I asked, eyes narrowing.

"We can talk details later. Now c'mon!" She urged, before disappearing. I rolled my eyes and grabbed my bag and quickly climbed out the window to catch her, trying to force the fantasies from my head before I wind up doing something stupid.

* * *

"_That's_ your big plan, Faith? To sneak out of school so we could drink beer at the park?" I asked in disbelief as she sat down on the swings, a bottle in hand with a cheeky grin lighting up her whole face.

"Pretty wicked, right?" She chuckled, pulling off the cap and tossing it.

"Where did you even get it from?"

"My dad had a case stashed in the basement, all hidden and crap. Like he thought I wouldn't find it? Fuckin' moron."

I frowned, opening up my own beer but not taking a sip just yet, sitting at the swing next to her. I know she's never gotten along with her parents, which I hate. Whenever she brings them up I just want to do whatever I can to take the pain away. I know it isn't much, but just sitting at the swings with a beer with her will probably help, if only a little bit. Just hope I don't have to actually _drink_ the stuff...

"Won't he be mad when he finds out it's missing?"

She didn't respond, just shrugged and took a few big gulps. I'm glad she had the sense to peel off the wrappers from the bottles and everything, so hopefully if someone comes by and sees it won't be too obvious. Or would it? I think it sort of just looks like she's drinking from a bottle of soda. Smelly soda... egh, how can she drink this?

"Gonna stare at the bottle all day, or ya gonna drink some?" She asked, smirking at me.

_Guess I might as well suck it up and have a few sips. She did go to all the trouble to sneak an extra one for me, after all._

"Bleghehhh!"

I could hear Faith doing a spit take beside me, and didn't have to look over to know she's about to tear me a new one thanks to my reaction. I'll never hear the end of this.

"Shit, B! This ain't no bottle of Jack, it's the kid shit! Damn, what ya gonna do when I get somethin' stronger?"

"You're getting something stronger?"

Again she didn't respond, just chuckled and started to swing. I narrowed my eyes and started swinging alongside her, unable to help thinking back to the old days when we were kids. How if you were swinging side by side with someone, it meant you were married... I need to get the stupid smile off my face before she notices!

"So..." I started, realizing after I said it that I had no follow up. Okay, I officially _cannot_ think around this girl any more. But she's looking at me now, in a way that suggests she knows what I said, why I meant it, and every little thing in between. She always has been able to read me like a book. "Um..." I continued, looking away from her piercing eyes. _Since when have I referred to her eyes as "piercing"? _"What made you decide to steal some beer now, of all days?" _An excellent topic, if I do say so myself. Especially for something I totally just pulled off the top of my head!_

"Just noticed it when I was lookin' through the basement for somethin', figured, yunno, why the hell not? He drinks enough of the shit anyways."

We continued to swing in silence for a few minutes then - well, except for whenever I would take a sip of the beer, and she would laugh at my reaction. I know it probably isn't very strong at all, in terms of the other stuff you can get, but I've never had any before! It takes some getting used to! I don't know how she can tolerate it so well. I guess she always has been the braver of the two of us...

**-*FLASHBACK*-**

_"You're new here, right?" Six year old Cordelia Chase asked the blond girl, looking her over._

_"Uh huh!" She answered excitedly, thinking she was about to make another new friend, after having met Faith earlier that day. "My name's Buffy, what's yours?"_

_"Cordelia. Cordelia Chase." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and crossed her arms, as her faithful lackeys stood behind her, waiting to see if they'd be called on. "You might wanna to remember it. I'm kinda the Queen bee around here. You don't wanna get me angry."_

_"Oh... okay..." Buffy frowned, not really sure what to make of this girl. Why is she talking to her if she doesn't want to be friends? Or maybe she does... "Do you wanna play with me?"_

_Cordelia and her lackeys all started to giggle, shooting each other looks. It did nothing but confuse the poor blond even more._

_"Please." Cordelia scoffed. "Why would I wanna to play with you. You don't even have anythin' to offer."_

_And with that, she shared another look with her lackeys, and pushed Buffy out of the way to get past her. The blond fell to the ground and skinned her knee, causing her to start to cry. Why were those girls so mean? What had she done?_

_"Hey!" A familiar voice shouted angrily. "Leave her alone, 'Smell-delia'! She didn't do nothin'!"_

_"Faith?" Buffy sniffled, sitting up to look at her savior. Sure enough, it was the brunette girl she had met that morning before leaving for school._

_"Back off, baby." Cordelia glared, though her voice wavered, showing her fear at seeing the younger girl. "You don't even go here. Go back to baby school before they notice you're gone, an' call your mommy!" Her group started to giggle again, impressed by her quick wit._

_"I'll go when I'm done." Faith shrugged, taking a few steps closer to the older girl. Her friends backed off, obviously not willing to take a beating from the young girl._

_"I'm not scared of you!"_

_"Ya should be."_

_Without any further ado, the young brunette reached up and punched the older bully square in the face. Cordelia's lackeys immediately scattered, either to get help or just to get away. Probably the latter._

_"Ugh, you stupid baby! Go back to the baby school, poop head!" Cordelia cried, running away with both hands covering her now bleeding nose. "I'm gonna tell my daddy on you!"_

_"Faith!" Buffy gasped, looking up at her friend in shock. "Why did you do that?"_

_"'Cause nobody picks on my friend." The brunette shrugged, as if the whole thing was no big deal. "Now c'mon, i'll walk ya to see the nurse." She offered, holding out her hand to help the older girl up._

_"Thank you..." The blond blushed, allowing the younger girl to help her up and wrap an arm around her. "But... what are you doin' here? You don't go here?"_

_"I know Cordelia, an' she's just mean an' stuck up. I figured she'd pick on you, so once nap time rolled around I came here to make sure you were okay."_

_"So you did all that for me?"_

_"'Course I did." Faith shrugged. "You're my friend."_

**-*END FLASHBACK*-**

"What are you laughin' at?" Faith asked, looking at me curiously.

"The day we met." I grinned, unable to help it. It was such a sweet memory. "Remember when you showed up at my school?"

"What, when I clocked Cordy right in the face?" She laughed. "God, that felt so good. Bitch deserved it, nobody fucks with my best bud."

I nodded, laughing along with her. "Cheers to that."

"Cheers." We clinked our bottles together and she continued to watch me, waiting for me to take a sip.

"Bleghehhh..."

* * *

As I crawled into bed that night, thinking about Faith as has always been usual, I could hear something familiar coming from next door - lots and lots of shouting.

_Oh boy, her dad must have found out about the beer! I hope she can get away before he hits her... __again_. I thought bitterly, vowing to one day find a way to get revenge on the old bastard. She deserves so much better than this.

I waited a minute for a door slamming shut, then the distinct sound of her climbing up to my bedroom window, thankful that I developed a habit of keeping it open after the first few late night visits I'd gotten so long ago, to make things easier, and to make her feel more welcome. Really, I wish she would come over _every_ night.

"B?" She whispered, peeking her head in. "You still up?"

I rolled over to look at her, unsure of if I wanted to act like I was just sleeping or not. She might be embarrassed if she knew I heard the fighting. _Well I have to answer or she might leave!_

"I'm up. Come in..." I whispered, sitting up a bit while trying not to blush. She's made late night visits like this all the time since we were little, but ever since I started to realize I care for her as more than a friend it's seemed a little more... well, just _different_, in all the obvious ways. I have to stomp down all the dirty thoughts in my head as hard as I possibly can, but still they refuse to leave completely. I feel every bit like a confused, sexually frustrated teenage stereotype. "Is everything okay?"

"Is it ever?" She grumbled, climbing in and walking over to my bed to sit down. Already I can see the unshed tears in her eyes and it's tearing me apart. "I can't wait for my birthday. I'll finally be 18, so they can't do shit about me leavin'. Not that they would anyways..." I got out from under the covers to sit down beside her, taking one of her hands into my own in a way that I'm hoping can be passed off as a friendly gesture. Thankfully it seemed to relax her more, as she leaned on me and let out a little sigh. "I don't know what I woulda done if you hadn't moved in next door. You're the only thing keepin' me sane."

My heart swelled at the admission, though I know she didn't mean it in any kind of a romantic way. I'm her best friend, she cares for me like a sister, and I'm so thankful for that, to have her so close in my life. Though I just can't help but wish for just a little bit more...

"Come on Faith..." I whispered, giving her a little smile. "Why don't you just take your shoes off and climb into bed with me."

_That's a perfectly innocent suggestion, right? I mean, we always used to do it when we were kids, so why would it be any different now? I hope she didn't notice the way my voice cracked halfway through the sentence... I don't want to freak her out.  
_

Thankfully though she didn't seem to think it was weird, just took off her shoes and climbed in under the covers, leaving a little space open for me. I took a deep breath, crawled in beside her, and she automatically wrapped her arms around me, pulling me in close.

"You've always been so good to me, B." She grumbled as she snuggled into my side. I tried to control my breathing, her close proximity firing me up to an embarrassing degree. "You're my best friend."

_Friends..._ I thought, unable to resist pressing my nose up to the top of her head to sniff her hair. _That's all we'll ever be..._


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up before Faith the next morning, but that isn't surprising. I always do. I kind of trained myself awhile back, because I love to wake up first so I can watch her sleep. Majorly freaky, I know, but I just can't help myself. It's the only time I can really get a good look at her without being noticed. Of course I try and sneak peeks when she's awake, I'm only human, but I'm too chicken to do it often. I'm scared that she'll notice and call me on it.

"B... don't touch my jacket... walrus needs to borrow it..."

I smiled in amusement, leaning on my arm to look at her, waiting for more of her ramblings. She's always talked in her sleep, which is another reason I love to wake up first. It's so cute.

"What walrus, Faith? Why does he need it?" I whispered, trying to coax her into saying more. It usually works.

"Goin'... to the... the ball, with the penguins... wants to impress 'em... He's gonna make me... make me a snowcone..."

I tried desperately to contain my laughter, not wanting to wake her, but it was difficult. She insists she doesn't really talk in her sleep, that I just imagine it, but I think she's just too embarrassed about the things I must hear. She never remembers what she says, so I guess to her it could be anything.

"What kind of snowcone?" I snickered, then placed a hand over my mouth to try and control it.

"Fish... don't want it... but he says they're good... Better be right... or... or i'll beat his ass..."

"I'll try it with you. If it isn't good, we can both beat him up." I managed to get out through my laughter. All I received in response was a grumble before she rolled over. "Faith?" I whispered. Another grumble.

_Well, guess that's all I'm getting out of her this morning. Might as well get up now._

"Buffy..." She mumbled, as I made a move to get out of bed. I looked down and noticed she's now got a hold of my arm.

"Faith?" I leaned over to see if her eyes are open or not. Nope, they're closed. So even in her sleep she doesn't want me to leave? Does that mean... no, no more thoughts like that! I can't keep getting my hopes up!

"Stay..." She pleaded, eyes still closed I see. Yeah, I haven't bothered to lean back yet, so what? I want to keep looking at her.

"Did the walrus ask me to stay?" I asked, wondering if maybe i'll get lucky and she'll continue with the weird sleep conversation.

"B... what in the fuck are ya talkin' about?" She asked, turning her head in my direction.

Her eyes opened then, and she found herself face to face with my chest. Or, well, face to boob I guess you could say. I froze, not really sure what to do now. She usually doesn't wake up so soon after sleep-talking, so I didn't think to pull away before there was a chance of her getting an eyeful of cleavage. _Maybe it will work in my favor? NO, stupid brain, bad thoughts!_

"Um, you were talking in your sleep again." I blushed, quickly pulling away. Didn't get too far though, since she's still got a hold of one of my arms.

"Bullshit, you musta dreamed it."

"If I was asleep, how did I lean over you like that?"

"I dunno. Naughty dreams? Maybe you thought I was some stud, and you were tryin' to show me your goods." She grinned, causing my blush to grow darker. "Hey, whatever. Worked on me." She winked, getting up out of bed to stretch. I'm desperately trying to avoid staring at her chest right now, but it's so hard... it's all jutted out, nipples straining against her shirt which tells me she so totally isn't wearing a bra. _God_, why does she do this to me? I feel like such a pervert!

"Um, I'm... I'm going to take a shower." I managed to squeak out, rushing to grab a change of clothes as Faith just watched me in amusement. I swear she knows what she's doing to me.

"Cool. Hey, you got any more Captain Crunch left?"

"Mom went shopping yesterday, I'm sure she picked some up for you."

Mom has always seen Faith as like a second daughter or something, and loves it every time she comes over. She makes it a point to always stock the house full of all her favorite food and everything like that.

After meeting her parents she just completely took the young brunette under her wing, that motherly instinct of hers kicking into overdrive. I think she feels just as helpless as I do at times, when it comes to Faith's parents... her dad is the police chief, so if we were to report anything, it isn't like anyone would ever believe it. We'd probably be evicted or something, the man has ties to everyone.

And I don't know how, but Faith even got the reputation as being spoiled. The chief has always been so careful about keeping how crappy a father he is quiet, and Faith has made sure to hide it just as well. She makes sure to talk him up to everyone but me, let them keep thinking he's a good guy.

I guess the town sees him as some kinda hero, having done something pretty amazing before me and mom moved down here. He keeps up the facade, even after all this time, out in public. I guess everyone just figures he's as good a dad as he is a cop, so that makes Faith spoiled?

It's ridiculous really, but I won't be trying to set the record straight to the town any time soon. Nobody would believe me anyways.

"Sweet." Faith nodded, pulling her shoes on. "In that case I'm gonna have a huge ass bowl before headin' off." She strolled over the door, then stopped to turn and grin at me. "Enjoy your shower, B."

_Now what is _that _supposed to mean?_

Before I could respond she just shot me a wink and waltzed right out the door, leaving me standing in the middle of the room holding a change of clothes, my face no doubt showing a look of confusion and disbelief.

That girl drives me crazy...

xxxxx

After my shower, which, admittedly, lasted a bit longer than intended - I blame a certain brunette for invading my brain and making me crazy! - I made my way downstairs and into the kitchen. What I saw was somehow not surprising in the least.

Faith was sitting at the table, digging through a huge pile of cereal with her bare hands. I assume there's a bowl in there somewhere, but I can't see it due to the mountain of Crunch Berries. I don't think she even noticed that I came into the room.

"Fuckin'... goddamn Captain Crunch... so much in here, how's anyone suppose to... ugh, shit! Fuck's sake, droppin' more than I'm keepin'!" She mumbled to herself, getting increasingly frustrated. I couldn't help but laugh at that, which made her aware that I'm here. She froze, looking up at me sheepishly. "Oh... how much have you seen?"

"Enough to be confused. What on earth are you doing?" I asked, as she started to slowly pick through the pile again, in a way that makes me think she's probably trying to be sneaky about it, like I'm not going to be able to tell. It's so cute.

"C'mon B, ya know damn well what - ahh, SUCCESS! Gotcha, you little bastard!" She shouted in triumph suddenly, pulling something out from the pile of cereal. It sort of looks like... "Got another prize for your collection." She grinned, tossing the little packaged toy at me. "If you still got some room, that is."

_Ohhh! Is she just the sweetest thing ever, or what?_

**-*FLASHBACK*-**

_"C'mon Faith, let's go have breakfast at your house!" The 6 year old blond insisted, tugging her 5 year old brunette friend out from her bedroom where the two had a sleepover the night before._

_"Why my house?"_

_"'Cause we spent all night at mine, so I wanna see yours now! C'mon, I barely get to go over there..." They both stopped as the younger girl resisted. "What's wrong?"_

_"I don't wanna go back to my house... Let's stay here..."_

_"How come?"_

_"I... I just don't want to... I don't wanna go back there yet." Faith stammered, a worried look on her face as she thought about returning to the hell on earth that the blond still had no clue was right next door after having known each other for nearly a year, and that she desperately did not want her to know about. Still, Buffy sensed something was off, by the way her friend's demeanor had changed so much._

_"Okay. We can have breakfast here. We have Captain Crunch!"_

_And so the older girl dragged her new best friend into the kitchen and started to set the breakfast up by herself. Thanks to the help of a chair to get to the bowls in the cupboard she wasn't yet tall enough to reach, she was able to do so quite nicely._

_She did let Faith be in charge of getting the milk and cereal though, at her insistence, and by the time her friend had gotten back to the table with the bowl and spoons she found that her hand was shoved in the box of cereal._

_"Aha!" She grinned, bringing her hand out from the box holding up the free toy from inside. "There it is!"_

_"Hey..." Buffy pouted, crossing her arms. "How come you get the prize?"_

_"'Cause I got to it first. Finders keepers." Faith shrugged, using her teeth to rip open the packaging that contained the small thing._

_"But... but..." The older girl thought as hard as she could to think of a way to get the special toy for herself, racking her brain for the best possible excuse. "But I'm starting a collection an' I want that one to be my first!"_

_"Huh?"_

_"Yeah! I'm gonna start collecting the toys from the cereal boxes! An' that's gonna be the very first one!" She insisted, pointing at the prize that seemed so close to being hers thanks to her brilliant idea._

_"Nuh uh, you jus' made that up." Faith frowned, not one to have the rug pulled over her eyes so easily. She'd never been the trusting type, thanks to the short life she had before the fiery little blond came into her life. Unfortunately for her - that blond knew exactly how to get what she wanted from the girl, right from the get-go._

_"No I didn't..." Buffy mumbled, continuing to pout and adding a little bit of a lip tremble to help seal the deal. "Please?"_

_Faith didn't stand a chance._

_"Okay. You want it that bad, you can have it." She relented, tossing the toy over to her friend who was now sporting an enormous grin._

_"Thank you, Faithy!"_

_And with that, the blond climbed up on to the chair beside her friend to give her a hug, and a kiss on the cheek, immediately causing the younger girl to blush. Joyce Summers, who was standing in the doorway watching the scene play out, simply smiled and shook her head before walking in to make sure the girls had something other than sugary cereal for breakfast._

**-*END FLASHBACK*-**

Ever since then Faith has checked every last cereal box - including the ones not advertising a free toy inside - to help me build up my "collection", which I stored in an old shoebox. To tell the truth, the only ones I saved were the ones she got for me. I couldn't have cared less about the others.

"There's always room for more." I smirked, bouncing over to give her the now-routine hug and kiss on the cheek. She doesn't blush anymore when I do it, but I don't think she feels any less embarrassed. She still always gets all squirmy and uncomfortable though, it's adorable.

"Yeah, yeah." She grumbled. "Hurry up and chow down, we don't wanna be late for school."

"We're actually going today? What's the occasion?" I asked, watching in amusement as she started trying to shove all the cereal back into the box without spilling any more. This is one of my favorite parts of the whole prize thing, watching her try to clean up the mess.

"No way you wanna miss the Edwards show today." She chuckled. "Damn, it's gonna be so good!"

"Faaaiiiiith..." I groaned, rolling my eyes. "What did you do to him yesterday?"

"Let's just say... I stole more than the two beers, and also got the key to the teacher's lounge. And, well, he might not be the only one feelin' like shit today."

"What?"

"Chill out! They'll be fine by lunch, at the latest. I mean, how much harm can Jack D and Ex-Lax do when it's mixed in with a pot of coffee anyways?"


	3. Chapter 3

By the time the first class of the day started, I was so totally over being mad at Faith - and not just because I can never stay mad at her anyways! It's clear Edwards wasn't the only one to drink from the spiked coffee yesterday, and that the effects of said coffee haven't worn off yet. Mrs Jones came into the classroom late, looking all disheveled and tired. I'm not sure why she didn't take a sick day... Well I guess they _all_ couldn't, I mean, like what if there weren't enough substitutes or anything? The entire school would need to close for the day.

Like I said - Faith is a genius.

"Alright, I'm not playing games today." Mrs Jones started out, sitting down and leaning on her elbows on the desk, placing both hands on her forehead. "Whoever did this... I'm catching the little monster." I swear she just shot me a look. Why would she shoot me a look? Does she know Faith was the one who did it, and so assumes I'm an accomplice or something? I must be getting paranoid! "For now, consider this class a... recess. There will be no learning."

Everyone started to snicker and high five each other by that point, whispering excitedly about the 'legend' that pranked all the teachers. Thankfully it doesn't sound like anyone knows who did it for sure, there's rumors going around that it could have even been one of the teachers that didn't get sick. Faith totally lucked out.

xxxxx

"Buffy!"

I spun around, surprised, to see who was calling my name. I found Scott Hope coming at me, a hopeful look in his eye - no pun intended. _Oh no..._

"Um... Scott... Hi..." I smiled, cringing on the inside. I think he has a thing for me. You know, unless I've just gotten a real big head or something. "What's up?"

"Well, I have a little something to ask you." He grinned. I can't help but think he isn't even half as cute as Faith is when she grins, I mean he doesn't have the dimples or anything.

"Okay..."

"Alright, so, there's that dance coming up, right?" _Right. A 'Lady's Choice' dance. So I don't think I like where he's probably going with this._ "Anyways I was thinking, if maybe you weren't sure who to ask, I could... you know, help you out with that."

"... Help me?" I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Faith was coming over here, but stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed who's talking to me. I swear it looks like she's trying not to laugh or something, there's just this weird look on her face.

"Sure." Scott nodded, his grin fading a bit at how hesitant I must seem. At least I hope that's how I seem. He's a sweet guy and all, but I don't really have an interest in going out with him, so it would be best to try and let him down nicely.

"Um... Well, I don't even know if I want to go to the dance or not. But if I do, i'll be sure to let you know." _Nice, Buffy. Way to let him down nicely._

"Oh. Okay." He shrugged, not really deterred it seems. "I'm sure you'll make the right choice."

And with that, he was gone.

_What does he mean by "make the right choice"? The way he said it, it's like there's some hidden motive or something. I don't like it. Wait, what the... now why is this girl coming up to me? Is there a line around here of people wanting to talk to me that I can't see? Oh god, this is freaky_.

"Buffy."

"Hi, um..." I stalled, trying desperately to come up with her name. She's talked to me a few times before, seems nice enough, but to be honest I just never bothered to learn her name.

"Satsu."

"Right! Right."

"Anyways, this is going to be pretty forward of me, but what the hell." She shrugged, leaning her shoulder up on the wall. I swear all the color left my face as I realized what she must be about to ask. Is it obvious how into Faith I am? Does _everyone_ know, and think I'm some sort of dyke? "You okay?"

"Um, fine, uh... I just... go ahead."

"Well, everyone knows that lame dance is coming up. And I know you can't want that dope Scott taking you, so hey, why shouldn't I step up to the plate? It's ladies' choice and everything, so it isn't as dumb for me to ask you as it was for him." She smiled, cocky and sure of herself. It feels like I'm gonna faint. Am I gonna faint? At least Faith is watching, she'll probably catch me before I crack my head open or something else embarrassing like that. _Hey, is she glaring over here? Weird..._

"That's... that's nice of you, um, but really, I'm not interested..."

"You're not?"

_I guess I am pretty transparent, she seems surprised that I turned her down. Everyone must think I'm a raging lesbian._

"Yes, really. I don't think i'll be going to the dance at all, and really, it was nice of you to ask..."

"That's too bad." She interrupted, looking pissed now. I took a step back, not liking how fast her mood changed. "You know she isn't going to take you. Don't hold on to the false hope that she'll swoop in like a knight in shining armor, to whisk you away to her castle. I'm the best you're going to get. Once you figure that out, you let me know."

And with that she strode off, bumping me good and hard in the shoulder on the way by. Not only am I surprised by her little rant, I'm also in shock over just how hard I got hit. I swear there's going to be such a huge bruise... And where did Faith go? I know for sure I saw her watching me...

**FPOV**  
**OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL**

"Hey, bitch!" I shouted after said bitch. No way I'm lettin' her get away with sayin' shit like that to my friend. "Where do you think you're goin'?"

"Oh, please. She isn't watching, you don't have to pull that cheesy bodyguard act you're so good at." Bitch sneered. Like she's pissed that I followed her out. Yeah, well, just wait, she's gonna go from pissed to cryin' for help in no time.

"Who says it's an act?" I cornered her, backed her up to the building. There's a few people nearby that could squeal on me if they wanted, but there's no way they will. They know I'd kick their ass, and if I don't my dad would give 'em shit for trying to 'slander' me or whatever. Only kinda protection the fucker offers me, and he does it to save his own ass from being mocked at the station for having a crazy, outta control daughter. "You can't expect to talk to her like that and get away with it. And also, don't think I don't know 'bout that fucked up bet you and the others set about who's gonna take B to that dance."

That last part seemed to worry her.

_Good, bitch better start gettin' scared soon, 'cause I'm _so_ gonna bust her ass in for all she's doin'. It's one thing to be a total asshole to my best bud, but to start up some bet an' try to fuck with her life to make sure you win? No. I'm not lettin' this bitch get away with that._

"So... what, you're just going to beat me up? Show off? You know it's not going to impress her."

"Not doin' it to impress her." I shrugged, cracking my knuckles, gettin' ready. And it's true. I'm not doin' this to impress B. I'm not gonna tell her I did it, but I know she'll know anyways. She'll get pissed at me, we'll fight, whatever. Not somethin' I'd want to start up unless I had a good reason. And this bitch gave me that reason.

"I think you are."

"Yunno what, nobody asked what you think. Just sit still and don't be a pussy about it." I raised a fist up to land the first blow, noticing she didn't even flinch. I shoulda figured she was gonna open her mouth.

"You don't have to do any of this. She'll never like you."

"The fuck you talkin' about." I asked, furrowing my eyebrows in confusion. Bitch better make her point good and quick, I'm on my last nerve here.

"Come on, you think a hot piece like Buffy Summers would go for trailer trash like you? Right. She wouldn't even fuck you if you had a dick. And if she knew about some of the chicks you've had in your bed..."

"Shut your fuckin' mouth, bitch!" I roared, pissed as hell that she's tryin' to use shit like that against me. How she even knows who I've fucked, chick, dude or not, is beyond me. I mean, fuck! I'm no fuckin' dyke, just 'cause I got a preference for pussy it doesn't mean nothin'! I'll fuck a dude too, doesn't matter much to me. Long as he's good and I can get my rocks off.

"Don't get mad at me for telling the truth! You saw the way she turned me down. She's no rug muncher. The thought that you want to fuck her brains out of her head... it would freak her the fuck out. She'd never be able to look you in the eyes again." Bitch smirked, knowin' she's got me cornered.

Let's see how fuckin' smug this bitch is when I bust her goddamn face open!

I couldn't take any more of this crap, so I just swung my fist out as hard as I could, lovin' the sickening crack as her nose broke against it. God do I love that sound, the sound I hear when I bust some self righteous prick's face, and I can just hear the bones snapping under my fist.

_Oh yeah. Teach_ that _bitch to fuck with me._

"You say a word of this to anyone, especially Buffy... if she finds out about any of this... i'll fuckin' _end_ you."

**BPOV**

Okay, so she must have ditched. Why would she ditch? There's no reason to, nobody's doing any work, all the teachers are nursing a stomach hangover thing, it's like the perfect reason to stay _in_ school! Something must be up...

There she is!

"So, you decided to ditch without asking your partner in crime to tag along?" I joked, walking over to stand beside her against the building, waving a hand in my face. _I wish she wouldn't smoke._

"Sorry." She shrugged. I'm not sure what she apologized for, the ditching or the smoking. Probably the latter since she just put out her cigarette.

"What's up? You don't want to see the aftermath of your perfect crime?" _Yup, that got a smile outta her._

"They look like shit, huh? Gotta say, for a last minute idea it was pretty genius. Glad I thought to stash somethin' stronger in my pack."

"The Ex-Lax was a pretty nice touch too, I have to admit."

"Had to give it a little extra punch, didn't wanna go on the hope that they'd have enough to get drunk. Good thing the teacher's lounge coffee is shit as it is, otherwise they woulda known straight away somethin' was up in their cup." She snickered, I guess amused by her pun. It's cute.

"I would say I'm surprised you were able to pull it off, but... really, I'm totally not. I think you're the only one that could pull something that insane off."

"I'm takin' that as a compliment."

"Seriously." I giggled. "You could write the book on the perfect ways to ditch school without getting caught. Tip one: spike the teacher's coffee with Ex-Lax. New York Times best seller for sure."

"Real funny, B. You should be a comedienne. Give Ellen a run for her money." She immediately flinched, like she regretted what she said.

_Oh my god... does she... no, she doesn't know. She can't know. But why would she make that face? Awkward, awkward, awkward! One of us needs to say something! God, I hope she doesn't know, since she hasn't made any moves it's totally obvious she doesn't feel the same way..._

"Well... I'm just, I'm going to go back in... if we both ditch it'll probably look suspicious or something. Don't want anyone to have any dirt on you."

"Nobody has dirt on me, did that fuckin' bitch tell you...!" She bursted out suddenly, stopping in mid-sentence as she caught the surprised look on my face. I mean, _what the hell?_ "Uh... yeah, right. Go ahead inside, I need another smoke." She grumbled, looking pissed. As she reached into her pocket, I noticed blood on her hand... so now I think something has to be up.

_What did she do? Who did she beat up? Do they have dirt on her? What kind of dirt?_

There's too many questions I can't deal with asking right now, not when she's in this kind of mood. I can tell she wants to be left alone. But i'll figure it out eventually...

"Walk me home after school?"

"Always do." She shrugged, cigarette already sticking out of her mouth and lighter held up to it.

And so, like a chicken, I left without another word, thinking back on the weird conversation we just had and all the things it could possibly mean.

xxxxx

"I'm beginning to think you're not paying any attention to me."

"Huh?" I asked, coming out from what I can only describe as a 'complicated daze'. I felt bad for zoning out when Giles is trying to help me out, but I kind of have a lot on my plate right now. Can you blame me?

"Perhaps we should continue this lesson another time." He suggested, not looking upset or anything. More concerned. Ever since him and my mom started dating, he's taken on a sort of father figure role since my real father is nowhere to be found. Stupid divorce. "Is everything alright?"

"Sure. I guess." _Aside from the fact that I'm in love with my best friend, who probably knows and clearly doesn't care since she's not making any moves._ "You know, I should be asking you the same thing. Didn't you have any coffee yesterday?"

He just smirked in response, and shook his head.

"Quite honestly, within the first few weeks of working here I learned not to eat or drink anything on school grounds. For heaven's sakes, I was paranoid that perhaps the principle was out to get me. Never trusted the looks of that beady little man, and he never seemed to grow ill with the rest of us." He chuckled. "I should have figured he was just as paranoid as I."

"So does he really have people check anything before he eats or drinks it?"

"I'm not commenting on that." He smirked. "I'm to assume that Faith is the cause of the sudden wave of illness that has struck the halls as of yesterday?"

"I plead the fifth." I winced, raising my right hand. "You know, on the grounds of being a tattletale possibly causing me harm or whatever."

"Well, it seems I have been teaching you a little something after all."

"I got it right?"

"Close enough." He nodded, looking afraid to say any more. I'm suspicious that he's just humoring me. "Why don't you go rescue Faith from the nonfiction section."

I just giggled and got up, heading over to the rows of books I left her waiting at. I'm not sure why, even after all this time, she likes to walk me home after school, but she always does. Even after I started getting tutored by Giles, and she has had to wait a good half hour for us to be finished. Lucky for her I was all distracted today, so we can leave early.

"Faith?" I called out, looking down the rows, trying to figure out where she is. Normally I can hear the snores. She must not be asleep this time. Well she can't actually be reading a book... "Are you still here?"

"Shit!" I heard her call out, off in the distance, followed by a deeper, more masculine voice responding to her. _I think it's coming from Giles' office?_ Just as I thought, she came out from his office a few seconds later... buttoning up her pants? "Uh... You... I thought you were gonna be longer." She blushed, actually blushed. I don't like what I'm seeing, because it's obvious what I just interrupted. I swear all the blood just drained from my face. "So you ready to go?"

"Um..." I froze, unable to make eye contact. It feels like I can't even breathe. Why can't I breathe? I knew she does this, she does it a lot, it isn't a surprise. So why does it always hurt so damn much every time? "Actually, I was just going to... to let you know I can make my own way home today."

"What?" She sounds surprised. Maybe she _doesn't_ know how I feel about her? Otherwise it would be pretty obvious why I'm acting like this. "But I always walk ya home, B."

"I know. I just kind of want to be alone right now." I mumbled, turning and walking away without another word. I don't want her to see how close I am to breaking down right here, right now, the tears already coming out.

_I'm an idiot..._


	4. Chapter 4

I'm not ashamed to admit that I spent the rest of the day holed up in my room, curled up with Faith's old leather jacket that I stole. Okay... maybe I'm a little ashamed. I hate how much I like her, and how much she's able to hurt me... and that I can't do anything about it.

Plus, the fact that I stole her favorite leather jacket, just because I love the way it smells like her, and owning it makes me feel like I own a special part of her... I feel pathetic. Oh, and the real pathetic thing - I bought her a new jacket, so she'd forget about the old one and I'd be able to keep it and not feel all guilty and stuff. How twisted is _that_?

**-*FLASHBACK*-**  
**One Year Ago**

_"Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Faith shouted, scrounging through her closet, tossing everything out._

_"What?" Buffy asked, trying to keep the guilty look off of her face._

_"My jacket! Where the fuck is it? Goddammit, that was my favorite, where the fuck did it go! Not like it grew arms and fuckin' crawled away or some crap!"_

_"You must have lost it. When was the last time you wore it?" 'Oh geez Buffy, don't laugh, don't you dare laugh or you're going to be in some serious trouble...' The older girl thought, trying to keep the smile from her face so she wouldn't seem so obvious._

_"Over the weekend! When we went to the park, remember? And I let ya borrow it on the way home, 'cause you were all cold and everything." She paused, then turned to look over at her blond friend. "I don't remember if you gave it back or not. Is it at your place?"_

_"Um... nnnno. No, I definitely remember giving it back." 'Actually, what I remember is keeping it, sleeping in it, and hiding it under my mattress so you won't see it when you come over.' The blond thought sheepishly. "You're sure it isn't in there?"_

_"Fuck! 'Course I'm sure, I mean, it's not like I got a lotta shit to begin with yunno? If it was in here, I'd fuckin' see it." She stopped and scratched her head, staring at the closet with a look of confusion and anger that the older girl found adorable. "Wonder if I took it to school today... yunno, I don't really remember. I probably took it to school, I usually do."_

_"Yes, I think I remember you wearing it. You must have left it there." 'Hmm this just might be easier than I thought!' Buffy smiled to herself. 'She'll be mad when she doesn't find it at school later, but hey, her birthday is coming up. I'll buy her a brand new one and she'll be totally over it. It's a fair trade, right? I mean, I'm kinda doing her a favor. Yes. That's how i'll look at it.' "It isn't that cold out right now anyways, you don't need to wear the jacket."_

_"It's not about warmth B, it's about the image. I got a reputation to uphold, and my jacket is a part of that reputation!"_

_"Uh huh. I'm sure people won't be any less afraid when you're beating them up without wearing it."_

_"Yeah, real funny. You keep talkin' to me like that and you're gonna be next."_

_"I'm soooo scared." The blond taunted, pretending to shiver in fear. She knew there's no way the younger girl would ever cause her harm intentionally, she's always just seen her as a great big teddy bear with an ego._

_"What, you think I won't? I so will. You won't be able to sit right for days, i'll kick your ass so hard!"_

_"Really? Is that a promise, or a threat?" She froze, which made the older girl realize what she'd just said and how dirty it sounded._

_"Oh, it's a promise." The brunette grinned - before suddenly tackling her friend to the ground. Buffy let out a girly little squeal and tried to push her away, mortified both at what she'd said and how fast the younger girl was able to get her on the ground. "Who is the master!"_

_"No, I'm not saying it!" The older girl insisted, even as she began to get tickled. "Stop!"_

_"Nuh uh, not 'till you say it, blondie. Say it for me! Say who the master is!"_

_"FINE!" She relented, tears coming out of her eyes, her stomach starting to hurt. "You are, Faith, you're the master! Now get up before I puke!"_

_"Fair enough." She chuckled, shooting a cocky grin with dimples on full display. "Now don't you forget it, B. I could totally kick your ass anytime I wanted." She said, while getting up and lending a hand to help her up on to her feet._

_"Right. You're a real badass at tickling." The blond grumbled, blushing at how worked up she'd gotten, while praying the brunette wouldn't be able to tell._

_"Yup. Among other things." She winked. "Now c'mon, let's go to school. I wanna see if I did leave my jacket there."_

_"Faith... you are aware that the school is closed now, right?"_

_"So? Little breaking and entering will do us some good."_

**-*END FLASHBACK*-**

I was jostled from my memories by a knock at the window, followed by the sound of Faith calling my name. I shrieked and fell off the bed, quickly shoving the jacket under it before she could see it, before finally being able to collect myself.

_Relax, she didn't see a thing! Now get it together or she'll know something is up! Well... oh crap, I didn't let her walk me home today, so she already knows something is up. This isn't going to be fun._

As I hesitated, I could see a look of hurt on her face. It was quickly replaced by one of determination as she fogged up the window and drew a little heart on it with her finger, completing the adorable gesture with a heartbreaking pout. There's no way I could say no to that.

So I got up and walked over to the window, opening it up and stepping back so she could come in. She shot me a thankful grin as she crawled in, then got serious. It's obvious she means business.

"What's up?" I asked, trying to seem casual, hoping I could get out of it.

"Was just gonna ask you."

"... Nothing's up."

"Bullshit." She snickered. "C'mon B, I've been your best bud for like, _forever_. I can always tell when something's up. Whether you're havin' a bad hair day, or cramps, or are just pissed at somethin' somebody did, I can always tell."

"If you can always tell, then why are you asking?" That seemed to stump her, as she just froze with her mouth hanging open like she has no clue what to say next. I'm actually feeling pretty proud, it's almost impossible to stump her.

"I... Just... I'm... I'm havin' a hard time figurin' you out recently. And it bugs the crap outta me." She finally admitted, looking frustrated as hell so I know she's telling the truth. "It's like I don't know what you're thinkin' anymore, or what it is I'm gonna do next that'll piss you off."

"You don't piss me off..." I frowned, confused by the sudden revelation. _Maybe you hurt me sometimes, but there's no way I'm saying that because you'll just pester me until I tell you why and there's no way I'm admitting it._

"You sure? I piss off most people. Most of 'em get more than pissed actually... Or other crap that isn't good." She shrugged. I don't like the way she looks now. All bitter and sad. I wish everyone else could see her the way I do, and not as just the rebellious, immature, spoiled police chief's daughter. She may be some of those things some of the time, but there's so much more to her, so much good that she never lets anyone else see.

"I'm positive, Faith. You never piss me off. Well.. not never." I smirked, nudging her a little, trying to get her to smile. "You do bug me sometimes. But it's nothing I can't handle, and to be honest I usually like it."

"You like that I bug you?" She grinned, looking oddly excited by my admission. "When I fuck with you, try and piss you off and crap?"

"I don't know..." I blushed, shrugging. I was really hoping she wouldn't latch to my comment like this, I just wanted to try and cheer her up.

"Oh hell no B, you're not gettin' outta it! C'mon, like I'd just forget you said anything?"

"That's what I was hoping for, yes."

"Tough break, blondie." She grinned, pointing to her head. "Photographic memory. Not gonna forget nothin' you've ever said."

"Photographic memory, huh? Then how did you lose your last jacket?" I blushed, trying not to be obvious with my prodding. I never knew if she found out that I took it or not, but she probably has a good idea that I did.

"You tell me." _Okay, maybe she does know! But then why would she let me keep it? Is she just humoring me? Does she know how I feel about her, and hope it will just keep me happy and stuff? Or that she thinks I'm doing something gross with it then and she wouldn't want it back anyways?_ "Or not..." She laughed. It sounded kind of nervous, or embarrassed, not her usual chuckle that I love. She actually seems... awkward? "Didn't think it would be such a stumper for ya."

"It's not! I mean, not... I don't know." I shrugged, the blush growing darker for sure. _Yeah, it must be the second theory. She must know I have it, and she's all grossed out and uncomfortable now. I'm such a dummy!_

"Forget it." She nodded. "I got a brand new one now, thanks to my best bud, and I love it." She tugged the sleeves of said jacket, which she happened to be wearing now. Come to think of it, I think she always wears it... even when she makes her late night visits, she just has on sweats, a white wifebeater and the jacket... _Okay so maybe I pay pretty close attention to whatever she's wearing, so what? Everything just fits her so well!_

"I'm glad you like it." I smiled. "Figured you would. Makes you look badass."

"So we're cool then?"

"Of course. We always are."

She simply nodded, and leaned in to give me an awkward hug. In all the time we've known each other, I think I've only gotten about 10 or so hugs from her, so I'm considering this to be a bit of a surprise. I'm usually the one that hugs her. And it's not too often, because it always seems to make her real uncomfortable. She must have really thought I was upset with her?

"Sweet." She grinned, looking a little bashful. She's really not much of a hugger. "Guess I'll head out then, got some shit to do."

"Anything illegal?"

"Probably." Her grin got bigger at that. "Let's see if I make the papers. Later, B!"

And with that she was out the window, leaving me curious and suspicious behind her.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day before leaving for school, I couldn't help but check the papers. I knew there wouldn't be anything in there involving Faith, but my curiosity just got the better of me. I needed to know.

"'Sup, B?" Faith called out, strolling in through the back door into the kitchen. I looked up from the paper with a blush, knowing she's going to know why I'm reading it. "I make the headlines?"

"Not unless you had something to do with a seven car pileup on I-69." She shifted her eyes and gave me an oddly serious look. I gaped at her. "_Did_ you?"

"Jokin'. Geez, lighten up, B." She shrugged, going to the fridge and scrounging around for something to eat. I rolled my eyes, both at her weird 'sense of humor' and the fact that she raids the fridge _every_ morning and usually doesn't find anything. It's like a bad habit.

"Very funny." I glared as I could tell she was snickering at me, head still stuck in the fridge. "You know there isn't anything different in there than there was yesterday morning." She just shrugged, turning away from the fridge - drinking straight from a carton of orange juice. "Faith, ew!"

She just looked at me all impishly, it was cute. There's a bit of juice running down her chin, and against my better judgment I can't help but think how much I want to lick it off. I must be blushing.

"What? I don't wanna get a glass."

"Is it at least almost empty?"

"... Define 'almost'."

"You're so disgusting." I sighed dramatically, rolling my eyes. She just grinned at me.

"Aw c'mon, like you've never done it yourself when nobody's around? You _so_ have."

"Not everyone has a lack of manners like you do." I said jokingly, smirking at her. She shrugged again and continued drinking from the carton, even as I shot her an annoyed look.

"Good morning, Faith." Mom called out suddenly, coming into the kitchen and shocking Faith, who then started coughing and snorting some juice out from her nose.

"Smooth." I giggled, unable to hold it back. She's absolutely covered in juice, and there's now quite the mess on the floor. "Guess you should have gotten a glass after all?"

"Whatever." She coughed, wiping at her face. "Sorry, Mrs S. I'll clean all this up."

Mom didn't say a word, just handed Faith a roll of paper towels and continued about her business as if nothing had happened. Faith got to work wiping up the floor, cussing under her breath as juice dripped from her face and hair on to the floor.

"Maybe you should take a shower." I suggested, trying desperately not to let my mind wander at the thought. She glared up at me.

"Make it quick, dear, or you'll be late for school." Mom smiled down at her.

"Right. That would be a tragedy." Faith muttered, tossing a pile of paper towels on to the floor to soak up the mess, then stood up. "I'll finish this after. Don't touch it, I'm gonna clean it myself." She pointed at the two of us, I guess knowing that I planned to finish the job as soon as she left.

I don't know how she can read me like she does, but I can't bring myself to be angry about it.

xxxxx

A few minutes later Faith came back downstairs wearing one of my shirts and a pair of jeans that are all too short and tight on her, with her hair all wet and hanging loosely over her shoulders, the shirt clinging to her still damp body. I nearly tripped over my own feet after noticing her coming. Just... wow. If only her shirt was white, I'd probably faint.

"Careful, B. You look like you're about to pass out or somethin'. You feelin' okay?" She asked, no doubt catching the effect she's having on me. She's probably just trying to give me an out so I won't feel awkward that she doesn't feel the same way or something.

"I'm fine." I squeaked. "Um, we didn't touch the mess, so feel free to... yeah."

She gave me a weird look, because come on I couldn't possibly be more obvious here if I tried, and got a few more paper towels, bending over to start cleaning the mess. I tried desperately not to look at the amount of skin that's showing as she's bending over, and am thankful that she probably can't see the way I'm staring at her.

_Mmm, why does she have to be wearing my clothes? She's much more built than I am so it all clings so tightly to her. And she's still wet, must not have put much effort into drying off._

And the tattoo on her arm... the way it's glistening on her moist, tanned skin, making her seem even more dark and rebellious. I can't help but think back to the day she got it...

**-*FLASHBACK*-****  
**

_"Faith, are you sure about this?" The older girl asked, as her and her younger friend stood outside the local tattoo parlor. "I mean, they probably won't even let you get one without parental consent or something. Pretty sure there's a law about that."_

_"Nah, I'm cool with one of the guys that works there. He owes me."_

_"I don't know... I mean... It's permanent. Are you absolutely sure? 'Cause you can't change your mind when it's done."_

_"Ah c'mon B, I made up my mind already. It'll look wicked badass, why would I wanna go back on it?" The brunette simply ignored the disapproving stare her older friend was giving her._

_"What gave you the idea to get it anyways? It seems so specific."_

_"Came to me in a dream. I can't really explain it... it's just like, I know I need to get it. It'll be awesome." The younger girl grinned cheekily then, and playfully pushed her friend's shoulder. "C'mon, you can get one too."_

_"There's NO WAY I'm getting a tattoo! My mom would kill me!"_

_"So get somethin' pierced? It would be easier to hide, and not as permanent and crap so she wouldn't be as mad. C'mon B, don't pussy out of it!"_

_"I'm not!" The blond pouted, not liking the way the younger girl is trying to make her out to be a wimp. "I just don't think it's a good idea."_

_"Please?" The brunette pleaded. "I don't wanna do it alone."_

_That shattered the older girl's argument. There was no way she would let her friend go through something like that alone._

_"Okay, fine..." The blond sighed, racking her brain for something that would be the easiest to conceal. "... I'll get my tongue pierced."_

_"Wicked." The younger girl grinned. "That'll be hot."_

_And with that comment, Buffy knew she made the right choice._

**-*END FLASHBACK*-**

I was jostled from my memories when a wet paper towel suddenly struck me in the face. I looked over at Faith in shock, only to find her whistling, I guess trying to act like she hadn't done it.

"Faith! You're a jerk!" I whined, wiping at my face. I cringed after finding it to be all wet and sticky.

"What'd I do?" She asked innocently, another dirtied paper towel in hand so I'm thinking she was getting ready to pelt me a second time. I picked up the soggy paper towel that had struck me, and whipped it at her. She just ducked away and shot me a fake hurt look. "What the fuck, B?"

"My face is all gross now!" I pouted.

"So? Your face is always gross, what's that got to do with me?" She teased.

"You threw one of those stupid paper towels at me when I was distracted!"

She got excited at that, a huge grin lighting up her face, revealing the dimples that always manage to make me melt.

"Can't prove that. What was distractin' ya anyways?"

"... Nothing."

"Were you starin' at my ass?"

"What?" I shrieked, horrified. _Is she trying to make a joke of the way I'm so into her? I don't believe it..._ "No! No, of course not! Why... why would I do that..."

"Jesus, lighten up. I was only messin' with ya." She frowned, I guess freaked out by my reaction. I must be ten shades of red right now, but luckily she probably can't tell since she's turned away.

_I really need to stop being so obvious, or I'm going to single handedly destroy the friendship with my stupidity..._

**FPOV**

I must be the dumbest son of a bitch in the world. 'Course B wouldn't be starin' at my ass, she was probably tryin' her best to ignore it. And the reason it looked like she was gonna faint like some damn movie starlet from the 1920's? She musta thought I was trying to impress her or some crap, show off or whatever. I just had to come down the stairs all scantily clad like I'm tough shit, of course it's gonna make her uncomfortable. She really must be against gay people to freak out so much.

I should just get my ass outta here before I do anything else stupid.

"Wait up!" B called out after me as I made my way to the front door. I stopped and looked over at her, confused.

"Why?"

"Oh... Do you... You're walking to school alone then?"

_Shit, even with good intentions I managed to fuck shit up! What the hell's wrong with me? Or really, what's up with B? Doesn't she wanna get rid of me?_

"Well, no. I mean, not if you want me to walk ya there. 'Cause, well, you walked yourself home yesterday, so I wasn't sure..." _God, I'm such a fuckin' pansy. It's just gonna freak her out even more._

"Right." She blushed. Why has she been blushin' so damn much? "I was in a weird place yesterday. I just... needed some time to think."

"You're sure ya ain't mad at me?" I swear, if that fuckin' bitch squealed on me and fucked shit up between me and B, i'll kill her...

"Of course I'm not." _She seems suspicious. Why would she be suspicious!_

_Fuck!_

_Why did things have to get so goddamn complicated between us? Why can't we just go back to how shit was before all these hormones and crap came in and made me go crazy with my stupid attraction..._

"Good. Cool. So, you're alright with my walkin' ya there?" _Yeah I'm the biggest fuckin' wuss there is. I can't believe how into this chick I am, she's the only person to make me feel all nervous and self conscious and crap. And I swear she knows why._

"Absolutely." She smiled, walkin' over to link arms with me. I'm tryin' not to smile like an idiot, but I probably am.


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, my girlfriend has just told me it's time to post the next chapter. Like, now. Soooo while I haven't really quadruple checked it to make sure there's no spelling, continuity, or other stupid mistakes... Whatever. I'm just closing my eyes and posting it. Enjoy?**

**A trillion thanks to those that have read and reviewed! Reviews always make my day more awesome :)**

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* * *

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Okay, so maybe Faith doesn't have any idea how I feel about her. She thinks I was mad at her? Because I wouldn't let her walk me home yesterday? I mean, that's so incredibly adorable, but still confusing. I didn't think I was giving off the impression that I was angry with her, I don't know how she got that.

"Yo, B, check this out." Faith grinned suddenly, gesturing over to Cordelia and her gang, who were walking together to school across the street.

"Alright, what are you..." _Oh god, is that Mr Wilkins watering his flowers up ahead? This won't end pretty._ "They're going to see you before you can even do anything." I whispered, trailing behind her as she stalked over to the other side of the street, trying to be all indiscreet.

"Wanna bet?"

And with that she shot me a wink and ran to the backyard of the house we were coming up to, jumping the fence.

"Faith!" I hissed, chasing after her. "What are you doing?"

"Makin' sure they won't see me. Now keep your voice down, you're gonna tip 'em off." She whispered, continuing to hop the fences as I followed right behind her. _Lucky I'm not wearing a skirt today, or this really wouldn't end well._

"Faith..." I warned once we got to Wilkins' backyard. She shushed me and crept along to the side of his house, checking to see if we were too late. By the huge grin on her face, I'm guessing we're right on time.

"This is gonna be good. Ready? Three... two... go time!" She ran over to Wilkins, snatching the hose from his hands and aiming it at Cordelia and her posse, the entire event happening in probably less than 3 seconds. "Eat water, Smelldelia!" Faith snickered as they got pelted by the hose.

"What in the hey?" Wilkins muttered, doing a double take.

"HEY! Lehane, you freak!" Cordelia squealed, pushing her friends out of the way to try and avoid the water.

"Now give that back here, young lady!" Wilkins grumbled, grabbing his hose back. He shot her a disapproving look. "That's not very polite. Perhaps I should speak with your father about this..."

"Forget that, i'll tell the _Chief_ myself!" Cordelia snarled, stomping over to Faith.

_Oh no she doesn't! Nobody threatens Faith! I'm not letting her get an extra whupping from her deadbeat dad over some silly prank like this!_

I ran over, stepping inbetween them, as if trying to guard my friend from her.

"Back off, _Smelldelia_." I snarled. She shot me a look at the nickname I used that Faith had come up with all those years ago. I heard her snicker behind me. "You're not saying a word to him. Not unless you want to answer to me."

To everyone's surprise, even Faith's I think, she backed off. I've never been seen as a tough girl, never had that kind of image that suggests I could do anyone any harm, but I guess it's obvious in this situation just how serious I am. I was even giving off some murder eyes, as an added touch.

"Whatever." Cordelia grumbled, before shooting Faith a glare. "It wasn't enough that you had to bust Satsu's face in, _and_ Scott's after that, now you go after us when we didn't even do anything? You're a freaking psycho, Lehane!"

_Wait... What?_

I turned to look at my friend as Cordelia and her posse stalked away, and found Faith wincing.

"What does she..."

"C'mon B, let's get outta here. We've done enough to Wilkins this morning, don't gotta get into some stupid argument on his front lawn." She stalled, grabbing my arm and leading me away as he watched us in disapproval. She waited until we were a few houses away, where nobody else seemed to be around, before stopping.

"Okay Faith, spill. Did you beat up Satsu?" I asked, staring my friend down. She flinched, but quickly covered it up. Not quickly enough, I saw it and knew the truth straight away. "Why? What did she do?"

"She pissed me off, it's no big." Faith shrugged, looking desperate to find a way out of this conversation. "It wasn't no serious damage."

"Okay, well what exactly did she do that pissed you off?"

"Just... It's nothin', aight?"

"It obviously must have been something if you busted her face in!" She sighed, refusing to meet my eye. I'm confused. Hey... it must have been... "Was it because of what she did to me in school? I did notice you there watching us."

"Bullshit, I was not!"

"I saw you there." I frowned, getting more and more suspicious by the second. "What are you trying to hide?"

"It's nothin', I swear... Please don't worry about it, okay? Just forget any of this happened."

"Why? Faith, what the hell happened?"

"Please B, don't push this. I just... I'm not sayin' nothin'."

"_Why?_"

"Fuck it." She growled. "I'm outta here. Make your own damn way to school, I don't feel like listenin' to all this bullshit right now."

"Faith!" I shouted after her, but it was too late. She's already too far gone in her own mind right now, I can tell. She didn't even look back as she turned tail and stormed away, cussing under her breath.

xxxxx

I was distracted for the rest of the day. Not really sure why I bothered to go in the first place, I knew I wouldn't have been able to keep my mind focused on anything, but I guess I figured it would be better than being at home. There's too much there that reminds me of Faith. I mean, half the things in my room are actually _hers_...

Whatever. I have to go back there eventually.

"Hey, Buffy. You okay?"

I looked up to find Xander Harris looking at me. I'd forgotten our lockers were right next to each other, we end up crossing paths a lot. And as usual, there's Willow right beside him, even though her locker is all the way across the hall.

"Fine." I answered, not looking back at them. I decided to focus on the inside of my locker instead. Though I didn't realize just how many pictures there are in here of me and Faith...

"Sorry." He chuckled. I looked over and noticed him blushing and looking down at his feet. I think he's had a crush on me for a while now. "Didn't mean to pry or anything, just noticed you seem kinda in the dumps. As in down to the bottom, with the banana peels and icky garbage water."

I flinched at the imagery, and he kind of giggled. I must really make him nervous?

"That's... I mean, well, no, you aren't prying." I smiled.

"Anything we can help you with?" Willow asked, looking a little excited that I didn't turn them away. I've seen Cordelia do it a countless amount of times, and even though I've never been mean to these two I haven't been overly nice either. They must be waiting for me to tell them to go away. "I am pretty gifted in the brain department."

"Yeah, her cerebrats are the biggest you'll ever see." Xander grinned, clearly very proud of his friend. She patted him on the arm, and I think is trying not to laugh.

"Um... I'm gonna take a stab here and say you meant 'cerebral'? Since that is one of the brain-y parts."

"Oh. Yeah, cerebral. See! Look at the brain on this one, smart as a whip." He giggled again, placing a hand on her head and shaking it a bit.

I couldn't help but laugh. The two have such an odd sense of humor, it's kinda catchy. I think it's something I need right about now.

"Hmmm. Maybe a nice, brain-y brain could help me with a problem."

"Then look no further." Willow stated, swatting Xander's hand away since he hadn't removed it. "We're here to help."

I thought it over for a second. On the one hand, it would be great to talk to some people that weren't all invested in my situation. Outside of the group and all that? But on the other, I don't want to drag them into my mess or anything. They seem real nice, they don't need to hear about the demented mind and perverted thoughts of Buffy Summers.

"I don't know." I sighed. "I do have a bit of a problem, but... I really wouldn't want to bother you with it. I mean, we hardly know each other. Why would you want to hear about my troubles?"

"Well... You've always been nice to us." Willow smiled, and Xander nodded. "You're a good person, Buffy. And we never really have anything going on, so we have the time to spare to help you out. You know, if you want. Or not. That's up to you."

"I think I have some free time." I shrugged, following them down the school hallway, trying to figure out a good way to explain my situation to the kooky pair. I get the feeling they might actually be able to help...

**FPOV**

_Fuck, am I an idiot. Can't believe I almost spilled the fuckin' beans to B, and it's a good thing I didn't 'cause damn would that be stupid. She'd get even more freaked out than she already is, and won't wanna get anywhere near me ever again._

_Well fuck that! I just gotta find a way to prove to her I'm no fuckin' dyke. Maybe i'll find some moderately attractive dude and stick with him, make her think we're datin'. That should make her feel better. But everyone at school is an idiot, hardly worth my time... Ugh, this is bullshit!_

"Hey, Faith..."

I turned around and found that chick that's been all over me for awhile now, comin' over to me. Didn't bother to learn her name. I just call her 'Close Enough' in my head, 'cause of the way she could be B's fuckin' twin. Really, there's only the littlest of differences in their features. Only way you can tell 'em apart is the voice and personality. This chick's voice is worse than nails on a chalkboard, and she's as boring and slutty as you could possibly imagine.

But still... If I make her shutup, kissin' her is as close to kissin' B as i'll ever get. That's why I'm never able to say no to the chick.

"Hey... you." I flashed the dimples, hopin' they'll make her forget how crazy obvious it is I don't know her name. She pulled me into a nearby alley, and I immediately knew what she wants. She loves it when I fuck her in public, so we usually use an alley.

"Ditching again?" She mumbled in a low voice, I guess tryin' to be seductive. I'm tryin' not to flinch. "You just can't get enough of me, can you?"

"You know it." I grinned again, unbuttoning her pants and pushin' her against one of the walls of the alley. "Now, enough talk..." ... _Before ya make my ears bleed with that fuckin' annoying ass voice. Jesus._

"Aww, Faithy." She whined. Hope I didn't cringe. Seriously, B is the only one allowed to fucking call me that, I just wanna punch anyone else that tries getting away with it. This bitch is lucky she looks so much like my B, or she'd get clocked right in the face. "I'm starting to think you don't really like me..."

"Ah c'mon, 'course I like ya." I whispered, easing a hand down into her pants. "You think I do this for all the girls?"

"But how come you... mmm... never want to be with me in public?" She sighed, closin' her eyes, which allowed me to roll mine without bein' detected.

"We're in public now." _Fuck, I'd better up my game. I don't like it when this chick uses her brain, all it does it get me in deep shit so she gets all pissy and won't go down on me. And I know I'd miss seein' that blond hair between my legs, reminding me so much of -_

"Faith?"

_OH MY FUCK! No, no, no, no, it's not her, it's so not her, she's not here, I just lost my sanity and am hearin' her voice in my head, yup, that's all it is._

"Faith, who's this?" The chick whose pants I'm in questioned, her eyes now back open.

_Alright, and I'm not the only one to lose their sanity and hear voices. Well, one voice. Fuck it._

I slowly removed my hand from the chick's pants, not botherin' to do it quick since I know she saw anyways, and turned around to see the wicked surprised and confused face of the only girl I've ever loved.

"Oh, god." She finally sputtered out after a minute of excruciating silence, before then turning tail and haulin' ass in the direction of her house.

I felt all the breath escape from my body, probably causin' me to make some real fucked up noise, and it felt like I was punched right in the fuckin' stomach. I keeled over so that my arms were at my knees, and leaned back against the wall of the alley.

"Faithy, what just happened?"

"Just... shut the _fuck_ up." I growled, bringing an arm up to cover my eyes. There's no way in hell I'm lettin' this bitch see me cry. And there's no way in hell I'm lettin' this be the end of my friendship with Buffy.

Time to have the talk I've been puttin' off for years...


	7. Chapter 7

I can't even believe it. I mean... Faith... She... I just, I knew it, I knew she had no interest in me whatsoever, but this... it proved it. At least before I could think to myself "_hey, she just isn't into girls, that's why she hasn't made a move_", but to actually... To see her with another girl... God, I'm an idiot. Of course she'd have no interest in me, she can get any girl she wants.

"Buffy!" I heard from my bedroom window, followed by a series of desperate sounding taps.

I shoved her leather jacket back under my bed and quickly wiped away the stray tears on my face. Sure, I have no intention of letting her in, since all that would do is lead to an unbearable confrontation that I'm not ready for yet, but still. When I go to the window to tell her to go away, I don't want her to be able to tell I've been crying.

What I wasn't expecting when I went up to the window was the sight of a very damaged looking Faith. She just looks... broken. As much as I want to prolong the start of my own inevitable pain by putting off a conversation, seeing _her_ in pain is something I just can't tolerate. So I opened the window.

"What."

"B... Buffy... I fucked up." She said slowly, not bothering to come in through the window. She just stayed on the ledge, clinging on to the windowsill. "I'm an idiot, and I'm sorry. Please don't let this be the end of us."

"You didn't _fuck up_. You don't have to be sorry, Faith." I sighed, shuffling my feet awkwardly. "You can't help what you feel. Or... don't feel."

"Um." She paused, looking sort of confused. "Right. So... I mean, we're okay?"

"I..." I turned to the side slightly, feeling my eyes starting to brim with tears again. "I can't. I just, I can't. I'm sorry." I started to turn the rest of the way around to crawl back into bed and never leave, when I heard her climb in through the window.

"Buffy, what the fuck?" I looked over and was surprised to see her glaring at me. "Are you fucking serious? You're gonna throw away our entire friendship over _this_? Why do you have such a fucking problem with it?"

"God, how can you... how... Are you _serious_? Why do I have a _problem_ with it?" She backed down a little, probably noticing the tears starting to pour down my face. I can't handle any more of this. "Just get the hell out of my house, Faith. I never want to see you again."

"Fuck." She whispered, pausing with her hand on the windowsill. The broken look on her face is back. "Never thought I'd lose my best friend thanks to her fuckin' homophobia."

"... What?"

"Don't gotta play stupid no more, Buff. I'm into chicks, as you know thanks to the little incident in the alley and the constant flirtin' I've done with you. And I guess you're just done with it." She shrugged, climbing out the window. I brought a hand out to grab one of her arms and tug her back in.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I demanded. She actually looks surprised, taking a minute to respond to me.

"The... The whole us not bein' friends no more thing. 'Cause of how I'm not straight. For real, I never thought it would be the end of us. And just for the record, I'm no fuckin' dyke. I can still be with a dude if I want, I just prefer... women."

"Faith, I'm not homophobic! How did you even get that idea?"

"Well, it just makes sense. I flirt with you all the time, and you get so fuckin' uncomfortable. I mean, what else could it be."

"I. Don't. Hate. Gay people."

"Then why the fuck did you freak out back in the alley?"

"Because it should have been me!" I shouted letting go of her arm and backing up, bringing a hand up to cover my eyes. I'm immediately regretting what I said, and am terrified of her reaction, so hopefully shielding my eyes will help everything.

I heard her climb back in, and felt her pull the hand away from my eyes so I'd look at her. The broken look has left, and she's starting to look kind of hopeful now.

"Look at me, B. _What_ should have been you." She demanded. I sniffled a few times, then let out a dramatic sigh.

_Better now than later._

"The girl you were with. She... she should have been me." I sniffled again, and noticed her mouth hanging open in shock.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course I'm serious, Faith. Why couldn't it be me?"

What happened next surprised me - before I could even blink, her lips were against mine and my back was pressed against the wall. I couldn't help but react the moment I realized what was going on, kissing her back and letting out an involuntary moan, reaching my hands up to tangle in her dark hair.

Until reason kicked in.

I pulled my mouth away from hers, and pushed her back a little. She froze and looked down at me, confused.

"What's wrong?"

"Don't do this." She didn't respond, just gave me a blank stare. "I'm not... I'm not stupid. I know you don't like me, don't pretend that you do. I don't want to be just another conquest for you to use before our friendship ends."

She was quiet for a minute, then suddenly she busted out laughing. I frowned and pushed her away further, pissed at how she could possibly find something funny about this situation.

"Shit, B! You really are blind!" She managed to say through her laughter.

"What's so funny?" I glared. She took a moment to stop laughing, then reached out to hold one of my hands.

"You're not a _conquest_. You even thinking that is just hilarious. Like, for real? I'm fucking crazy about you. And even if I wasn't, do you think I'm that much of an asshole? To want to use you like that? You're my best friend..." She paused, rubbing little circles on my hand with her thumb, something that always seems to relax me. "I'd sooner kick my own ass than hurt you like that, Buffy."

"But if you... How come you never made a move before, like you do with everyone else?"

"'Cause you're not everyone else. You're better than them, so you deserve better than that." She smirked then. "And did you really not notice all my flirtin' before, which I just mentioned a minute ago? Thought I made it pretty fucking obvious that I'm into you. Hell, I've gotten kinda desperate recently, tried to find reasons to get you to notice me..."

I've known Faith for nearly my entire life, and here I thought I knew absolutely everything about her - except for the fact that she's into girls. And _me_. And the more she admits, the more I can see she's telling the truth. I know she thinks she's a good liar, but really, I can see through her every single time, and this time she looks sincere. I swear even her eyes look like they're shining a bit.

"Hey... So, this morning when you were asking if I was staring at your ass?"

"Wishful thinking." She grinned. "But hey, in my defense it totally looked like you mighta been." She paused then, no doubt noticing the blush I'm now sporting. "Holy shit, you were lookin' at my ass!"

"Well you were wearing my clothes, they're too small for you, I couldn't _not_ look at what was showing..." I pouted, growing increasingly embarrassed.

"Believe me, B, I've noticed how tiny your clothes are. Have you not noticed me starin' at you every chance I get? And the other morning, when I woke up to Buffy boobs in my face... Good god, that was the best wakeup I've had recently."

We paused then, just to smile at each other and share what I consider to be one of the best moments of my life. To see the most incredible woman in the world look back at you with so much emotion in her eyes, and the happiest smile you've ever seen on her face... It's mindblowing.

"So then you like me back, huh?" I asked after a few minutes of this. I just need to hear her say it again.

"Hell yeah I like you the fuck back." She chuckled.

I continued to blush, trying to gather up the courage to say what I know I have to now. Yeah, we've said these words to each other a few times before, but this time it carries an entirely different meaning...

"I love you, Faith."

"I love you too, B." She replied without hesitation. I huffed in frustration, which just made her grin wider for some reason. I was momentarily distracted by her adorable dimples.

"I - I mean I'm _in_ love with you."

"Yeah. That's what I meant too." She shrugged, before leaning down to kiss my temple. It was such a sweet gesture, and such an incredibly sweet moment, I had no idea what to do next. So I just did the first thing that came to mind.

I kissed her again.

Unfortunately, I was so busy swimming in the sight, smell, and feel of the incredible woman before me, that I didn't hear the sound of my bedroom door opening. I was completely oblivious until a loud throat clearing got my attention.

Faith jerked back and spun around until her back was pressed against the wall right beside me, and I just froze like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Dinner will be ready in five, girls." Mom announced from the doorway, looking completely unaffected by what she'd just witnessed. She turned to leave, then stopped to peek her head back in. "Oh, and keep the door open from now on."

xxxxx

After taking a minute to freak out, Faith and I did what we could to calm down before bravely venturing down to the kitchen for dinner. I say bravely because, as cool as my mom seemed with it, I... I don't know. I'm just paranoid that it was a fluke.

I'd only ever dated a few guys before, but still, they were g_uys_, so the whole catching me making out with another girl thing is pretty new, and based on what I've heard, the whole coming out process doesn't normally go over well with the parents.

"What if she hates me?" Faith whispered suddenly, when we were halfway down the stairs.

"She's not going to hate you." I assured her.

"But how can you know that? She tolerated me before, when I wasn't known to make out with her daughter. What if she decides to finally toss me out on my ass?"

"Then you'll just have to sneak into my room more often."

"Nice, B." She grumbled. "Real comforting."

I just giggled at her uncomfortableness, the sight of it actually somehow managing to calm me a little, and led her into the kitchen to sit at the table. The first thing I noticed once we sat down - mom was continuing to act as though nothing out of the ordinary had just occurred. It was kinda... eerie?

"So... what's for dinner?" I asked cautiously.

"Tacos. I was feeling a little festive tonight." Mom smiled, placing the large serving plate filled with tacos down at the the table. I could see Faith starting to drool already, though she was clearly too scared to make any moves yet. It didn't go unnoticed. "Faith, is everything alright? Normally you're all over the food before the plate is halfway down on to the table."

"I'm... uh... yeah..." Faith stuttered. I'm worried she might faint or something, I don't think I've ever seen her this nervous.

Finally mom sighed and sat down at the table across from us, I guess ready to discuss what had happened.

"I'm not going to bite your head off." She smiled, looking pointedly at Faith, who I saw relax just a little bit. "Really, I've had quite a while to get used to it."

"Huh?" I asked, scrunching my face up in confusion. _What is she talking about, it's only been a few minutes?_

"I've had a lot of time to adjust to the idea. I mean, I'm not blind. I've seen the way you two have always behaved around each other, right from the beginning..."

***FLASHBACK*****  
**

_The five and a half year old brunette and her six year old blond friend sat in front of the television, watching a film that includes a wedding. She had a bored look on her face, while her older friend was positively captivated by it._

_"This part is too long." The brunette complained._

_"Nuh-uh!" The blond countered, finally removing her gaze from the television to glare at her younger friend. "It's beautiful. It should be what the whole entire movie oughtta be about."_

_"Laaame."_

_"You just don't understand it, that's all."_

_"And you do?"_

_There was a slight pause, then both girls turned to Mrs Summers for help._

_"Why do people get married?" The younger Summers asked._

_"Well..." The woman smiled, amused by the look of pure interest on her daughter's face, and the look of pure disinterest the girl's friend sported. "Marriage is something that happens when two grown ups love each other."_

_The brunette was quiet for a moment, considering this._

_"How do you know when you love somebody?" She finally asked._

_"If all you want to do is spend time with that person, do anything you can to make them happy, and imagining life without them is unbearable." 'Simple enough for them to understand, right?', Mrs Sumers thought._

_The two young girls just looked at each other and shrugged. Then the blond smiled excitedly._

_"I'm gonna marry Faith!" She proclaimed._

_"It looks too expensive." The brunette frowned, as Mrs Summers tried desperately to control her laughter, figuring she must not have explained it right._

_"It doesn't hafta be. Right, mom?"_

_"Well..."_

_"But you like expensive stuff, an' I wanna make you happy. I'm gonna have to buy some stupid rainbow colored birds or somethin'." The younger girl whined._

_"Oh, that sounds pretty! And we can get a unicorn!"_

_"Those aren't even real, stop being dumb."_

_"I'm not dumb!"_

_"Girls..."_

_"Mom, make her apologize!"_

_"I didn't do nothin'!"_

_"Liar liar pants on fire!"_

_"Girls, really..." Joyce tried again to no avail. She'd grown used to the duo bickering like this._

_"Faaaiiiith just say you're sorry!" Buffy pouted, easily crushing the resolve of the younger girl._

_"Okay, okay, geez." Faith grumbled. "I'm sorry I called you dumb. You're not."_

_"Thank you." The older girl beamed. "Now hold my hand. 'Cause that's what married people do."_

_Mrs Summers watched in amusement as the two girls then held hands while going back to watching the movie, big smiles on their faces._

***END FLASHBACK***

**BPOV**

"Oh my god, I so did not say that!" I gasped, embarrassed by the little trip down memory lane my mom just took us down. Faith is busy snickering to herself beside me, so I elbowed her in the ribs.

"Aw c'mon, B! That was so wicked sweet. Deep down I always knew you were crazy about me. Oh yeah, right from the beginning you wanted me all to yourself. Not that I blame ya."

"I can't believe I was so obvious, even back then..."

"Yes, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what would happen. I could only tell myself your... unique closeness was because you were 'just good friends' for so long. Honestly, I'm surprised this didn't happen sooner." She paused to narrow her eyes at us. "It did just happen, right? You hadn't just decided to keep the old maid out of the loop?"

"It did just happen, mom." I blushed. "Pretty much only a few minutes before you opened the door." I looked over to find Faith looking all sheepish and nervous beside me, the sight causing me to melt. She really doesn't get like that often.

"Good. And remember, I meant what I said about keeping that door open from now on..."


	8. Chapter 8

**[.Chapter Eight.]**

We spent that night together again - only tonight, it was the most awkward, and the most comfortable, night we'd ever spent together. It took a while to figure out what to do, and why we felt like it should be different... Finally we just decided to snuggle together as close as possible and fall asleep - after I promised Faith I wouldn't tell anyone she likes snuggling.

Then in the morning she snuck out my window and went around the house to knock on the front door, so mom wouldn't know she spent the night. I doubt she'd be all too happy to allow her daughter's new girlfriend to spend the night in her room. I'm sure she had her suspicions though, because she eyed Faith warily when she came in. I guess we're not really good actors...

"She thinks we fucked, B!" Faith whispered once we left the house, looking really freaked out. "She's gonna kill me! I'll never be let back into your house, and she's gonna taser me, and that'll be it for good ol' Faithy!"

I paused to smirk at her. "Really? _'Good ol' Faithy'_, huh?"

"Ah, shove it." She snickered. "I'm tryin' to be serious here. I mean, what... What if she hates me?"

"You heard what she said, Faithy. She's been waiting for this to happen since we were kids. She's had a lot of time to get used to the idea, and she seems... I dunno, surprisingly cool about it."

"I'm still freaked. Now every time I see her, I'm gonna be waitin' for her to punch me in the face or somethin'!"

"So you're going to flinch every time she moves her hands just the slightest bit? Cool. That'll be amusing."

"You're bein' real helpful here, B."

"Really? I wasn't trying to be."

She stopped walking then to glare at me. I just smiled innocently and grabbed hold of one of her hands. I swear I saw a faint blush start to appear on her cheeks, but she ducked her head down real quick before I could be able to tell for sure.

"What're you doin'?" She mumbled.

"Uh... Holding your hand. Is there a problem?"

"Nah. Just, yunno... I don't..." She lifted her head up then, am obviously forced smile on her face. "People might rag on ya, and then i'll have to bust their ass up and you'll get mad at me for bein' a brute, like ya usually do."

"Why would people rag on me." I asked, eyes narrowed. _She can be so confusing sometimes..._

"Well... 'Cause you know how the neighborhood is. I mean, you remember what happened when Larry and Chuck started dating? Everyone in school gave 'em hell for a full week, until I finally made 'em stop. And even then people would yell at 'em on the street, randomly egg their house or some shit..."

"I'm surprised."

"What? You really not worried about any of this happening to us?"

"Of course I am. But I'm kinda past the point of caring." I shrugged, taking a step closer. Her eyes darted and then she looked down at her feet, in a way that makes me think she might bolt at any second. "Hey." I said softly, using my free hand to lift her chin up so she would look at me. "Aren't you supposed to be the strong one here?"

"I'm..." She sighed, taking a long pause. "I'm scared, Buffy. My dad..."

"He doesn't know." I finished for her. _Of course. I mean, _I_ didn't even know she liked girls, and **me**, until just yesterday. She's been hiding it so well, the only people that do know must have been threatened with a slow and painful death. And with the way her dad is, he'd be so pissed about his own reputation being ruined, I don't even want to think about what he'd do to her._

"I'm sorry." She said, she soft it was barely above a whisper. "I want people to know about us, I do. I'm dyin' to show off ASAP actually, but... I just wanna figure out a way to do it without gettin' a concussion or somethin', yunno?"

"I understand." I nodded - still refusing to let go of her hand, though I did take a step back. "But hey, that doesn't mean we can't hold hands. We did it all the time before, well, _yesterday_. I doubt anybody will notice a difference."

"Yeah. I can work with that." She finally smiled, giving my hand a light squeeze. "C'mon. Let's get to school. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave and go back to your place."

"Right." I immediately smiled back, unable to help it. We started walking down the sidewalk again, hand in hand. "Just watch out for my mom. My last girlfriend told me she's got a killer right-hook."

"That's not funny, B!"

xxxxxxxxxx

Once we got to school, I noticed something odd. Scott Hope, in an arm sling, looking terrified the moment he laid eyes on Faith. I immediately stopped walking, and turned to narrow my eyes at her.

"Faith..."

"What a pussy! I didn't hear any bones break, if anything it's just a little sprain!"

"Okay, now I _really_ need to know. What the hell did you do that for?"

"I had a good reason."

"Yes, I assumed so. But you're not telling me what that reason is."

"It's complicated. C'mon B, I'm really not in the mood for us to get in a fight right now." She whined, pulling out a pout and her famous puppy dog eyes. I immediately softened, against my own will. How does she do that to me?

"Okay. Okay, fine. That's fair." I sighed. "If you tell me, I promise we won't get in a fight."

"You promise, huh?"

"Yup."

She narrowed her eyes and looked me over, clearly sizing me up. I didn't always hold up to my promises, especially when it comes to me not reacting badly to something, so I guess she's making sure how serious I am.

"Even if I said the reason was 'cause I said that bangs give you pig face and Satsu and Scott disagreed, so I beat 'em up?"

"Pig face?" I gaped, quickly pulling back as I realized what she's doing. "Very funny, Faith. I'm not getting mad. Now tell me the real reason."

"A'ight, fine." She paused, scratching at the back of her head. "But I still think you're gonna get mad. Just keep in mind I did what I did 'cause I love you, and didn't wanna see you get hurt. Okay?" I nodded and crossed my arms, waiting for her explanation. "Right. Well, I heard from someone that Scott and Satsu got a bet goin'. They decided to place a bet to see which of them could get you to go to prom with 'em."

"Oh..." I blinked in surprise, the pieces fitting together. "So when Satsu had asked me to prom, and I saw you watching us, and you disappeared...?"

"Yeah. I couldn't let her get away with it. And I confronted Scott later, see if maybe he was just a doofus that got suckered into the bet or somethin', but it turns out he was actually the brains of the operation. I kinda lost my temper, got carried away in the science lab."

"The science lab?"

"Well, yeah. I cornered him, waited for class to end and everyone to leave, and pushed him in. Wanted to make sure we had some privacy."

"Uh-huh. Privacy so you could... break his arm?"

"He's just being a pussy, there's no way I broke it! I've broken bones before, done a shitload of sprains too, and it wasn't that bad. Probably just damaged the muscle tissue, maybe popped a bone outta place at the worst, but that's all. Not like I tried to kill him or nothin'."

I took a deep breath, making sure I'm all nice and calm so I can keep my promise of us not fighting. I just don't understand why she feels the need to beat up anyone that she thinks have wronged me in some way, I can take care of myself, why does she have to be such a brute! Oh... Damn. I hate that she knows me so well.

"You just called me a brute in your head, didn't ya?"

"I... I did not!" _See? How on earth could she even tell?_

"If you say so, B." She grinned. I narrowed my eyes and stuck my tongue out at her.

"So you guys are still fighting, huh?"

"We're not fighting, I told her we wouldn't fight and we're not!" I paused, then looked over to find Xander standing there with an amused look on his face. "Oh. Hi, Xander."

"Xander Harris? Hey, weren't you the guy that used to date Cordy?" Faith asked, looking him over with interest. He nodded, looking too afraid to speak. I think he's really scared of her. "Tough break, man. Glad you walked out of it with all your limbs intact."

He started to giggle then, looking really relieved that she seemed to be acting nice towards him.

"It wasn't easy. She dug her claws in pretty deep."

"I won't ask where." Faith winked, causing him to blush and look down at his feet.

"Um... Anyway... Just checkin' in, Buff. I'm glad you seemed to have worked things out?"

"I have, thank you." I smiled. "Say hi to Willow for me. Where is she, anyways?"

"Oh, Oz is bringing her today. I'm trying not too think to hard about why they're late." He admitted, making a face. We said our goodbyes then and he went on his way. Once he was out of hearing range, Faith turned to look at me questioningly.

"Since when do you hang out with red, and the nervous guy?"

"Since yesterday. They're really nice..."

*** FLASHBACK ***  
**THE DAY BEFORE...**

_"So you and Faith, huh?" The dark haired boy asked his new blond friend. "That's... Well, I'll stop talking now before I say something very embarrassing and teenage boy-ish."_

_"We're not together, anyways." The blond girl blushed. "I mean, that's the whole problem. I like her, but I have no idea if she likes me, or if she even likes girls in general. I've only ever seen her with guys, and I know her to be a 'get some, get gone' girl anyhow."_

_"I bet she would change that for you." The redhead smiled, patting her new friend's arm comfortingly. "Based on what you've told us, it sounds like she does have some feelings for you. Maybe she's just scared?"_

_"I guess. It would make a lot of sense... She doesn't get scared very often, but when she does, she acts like she has been recently. She tries too hard to pretend that there isn't anything wrong, and she acts kinda off around me, worried that I know." The blond paused, considering Faith's actions as of recently. The pieces were slowly starting to fit together in her mind, but she didn't want to start getting her hopes up about anything. "I don't know though. I mean, she does the same thing when she cheats on a test. I could be way off about whatever I'm thinking."_

_"You won't know the answer until you talk with her about everything. Right, Xander?" The redhead asked her dark haired friend. He appeared to be lost in thought. "Umm... Xander... Are you okay?"_

_"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm doing super. I wasn't thinking perverted thoughts." He looked over to Buffy. "So did we help fix your problem?"_

_"Well you certainly didn't make it any worse." The blond smirked, overlooking the obvious fact that Xander was having some sort of perverted fantasy. "Thanks for the advice. Guess I should probably talk to Faith..."_

_"Let us know how it goes, okay?" The redhead nodded, clearly genuinely interested. "And don't worry! We won't say a word to anyone. You can trust us. Right, Xander?"_

_The girls both looked over at the dark haired boy, only to find him staring off into space again with a dopey grin. They both rolled their eyes and walked on ahead, leaving him behind with his thoughts._

*** END FLASHBACK ***

"You told them..? What the hell!" Faith squeaked. _I love when her voice gets all high like that and her words get kinda squeaky... Oh right, I'm supposed to respond!_

"We can trust them, Faith. Have you ever once heard them spread gossip to someone?"

"Well they told me about that field trip where Cordy made a total ass of herself and I missed it."

"Oh yeah." I giggled, remembering that day. "_'Be my deputy!'_" I tried to hold back my smile after noticing the look I'm now receiving from my best friend, slash new girlfriend. Hm... I love that little addition. "Sorry. Anyways, she deserved it! They wouldn't spread gossip about nice people, or even mean people if it was something really big. They're really nice."

"I guess so." She shrugged. "But if I find out they spill the tomatoes to anyone, I'm gonna kick their ass so hard it'll leave a permanent boot imprint."

"You do that and i'll do that gross thing with my eyes that freaks you out!"

"Huh? What gross thing with your..." Her sentence was cut off when she looked over and noticed I now had my eyelids pulled back. "Oh come on! Fuck, B! You haven't done that since I was like, 12 years old!" She groaned, quickly making a face and looking away.

"So you won't beat them up?" I asked with a huge smile, proud of remembering the leverage I've got over her when I do this.

"Okay fine! Jesus, I won't beat up your new BFF's. Now put your eyes back to normal!"

"Okay." So I did, and she slowly looked back over at me with a relieved sigh. I took her hand again and started leading us into the school before we were late for any of our classes.

"You're one weird ass girl, Buffy. You're lucky I love ya." Faith said while shaking her head, a smile tugging at her lips.

_Don't I know it..._


	9. Chapter 9

We spent the rest of the day after school up in my room, with the door open as per my mom's request, trying to do some school work. But Faith really didn't make it easy to concentrate. I don't know why I was at all surprised by that, she hates school.

"C'mon B, spill." She pushed, trying to get us on the subject of something I've been hiding for years. "I know you have it, just tell me."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Do you have the answer to number four yet?"

"Yeah. The answer is 'my ass'." She grinned, clearly quite pleased with her joke.

"I see... Is that what you put down? Because I don't think the teacher will think it's very funny. Don't you remember the time you answered 'Testicles' for every single question on that test last year? You almost got expelled." I giggled at the memory. The teacher and the principle were _so_mad.

"Yeah, that was classic." She laughed, so hard she nearly fell off my bed. At that thought, I had the realization that we're both on my bed. I immediately began to blush. "Ohhh, there's my favorite color! What're ya thinkin' this time, B?"

"Nothing."

"Uh huh." She nodded slowly, looking me over. A little smile crossed her face then, that somehow didn't seem to register in my brain. "Okay, okay I'll be nice here and change the subject."

"Thank you."

"Is my old jacket under your bed?"

_What? Oh crap, she is so evil. Stupid brain thinking stupid naughty dirty thoughts and telling all the blood in my body to go to my face! If I hadn't blushed, we wouldn't be back on this topic._

"I really don't know why you keep bringing that up. I think you're having some really realistic dreams about that ratty old thing, so you think you're seeing it everywhere." _Yes, that sounds perfectly reasonable. She has to buy it._

"Really..." She grinned, a certain glint in her eye that I'm all too familiar with. She knows. "'Cause ya know, pretty sure I wasn't dreamin' last night when I found this."

And with that she rolled off of my bed, crawled under it, and came back out a few seconds later - her old leather jacket at hand. If I thought I was blushing before, that's nothing compared to the fire on my face right now.

"I... I don't know how that got there..." I stuttered.

"Sure ya don't." She hopped back up on the bed, closely inspecting the jacket, the same grin still in place. "Y'know, B... I woulda gladly handed this over to you if ya just asked."

"Yeah?"

"Duh. I've always been your bitch." She then leaned in to give me a soft, sweet kiss.

It would have easily stopped there - if I hadn't realized again that we're on my bed. So as she began to pull away I quickly reached my arms out to wrap around her, pulling her right back to me with another kiss. I guess it wasn't what she was expecting, because she easily fell back, placing me precariously on top of her. Though maybe she did it on purpose... Oh well, I really don't care _how_it happened, I'm just glad it did.

As her warm, soft lips moved together with mine, I wondered how I possibly had the self control to wait so long to taste them. _Taste them... hhmmm... Might as well do it properly._So I cautiously slid my tongue out, licking from her bottom lip up to the top one, then gently nipped at the bottom one. Something about it has always managed to capture my attention, I just had to do something about it.

Her arms, which had already wrapped around me, tightened their grip, and she made a noise that kind of sounded like a groan she tried to block from coming out. I pulled back a little to look down at her.

"Was that okay?" I asked, breathing already ragged. I'd normally be embarrassed about that, but hers is too.

"Fuck." She mumbled closing her eyes for a moment. "If that was any more okay, I think you'd have me totally paralyzed."

"Guess I'll have to try harder next time."

"That better be a promise."

"Ahem..." We both sat up and spun around to find my mom in the doorway, arms crossed, giving me one of those _mom_looks. Guess there's a logical reason she wanted me to keep the door open - to spy on me. "Faith, I'm afraid your father just called."

"Oh." She nodded, her 'it's all cool, i'm totally calm and collected' mask on, and got up off my bed. "And he wants me back home."

"He did sound pretty angry." Mom sighed. "I'm sure there's only a few minutes left before he calls again to chew me out."

"Yeah, no prob. I'm outta here." Faith shrugged, reaching over to give my hand a squeeze before heading for the door. "Guess I'll see ya tomorrow."

"Faith..." Mom stopped her, placing an arm on her shoulder. "Don't hesitate to come back if things become too hectic. I know I've said it a million times, but it doesn't hurt to say at least once more."

"I got it. Thanks. I'll be back in the morning." She nodded, quickly heading out the door. I knew for sure she'd be back before then, once the sun goes down and my mom has gone to sleep. And I'll be right here waiting for her, to help take her mind off of her dad.

xxxxxxxxxx

It was torture listening to the arguments next door all evening, hearing that most of the shouting was coming from her dad. And Faith, she sounded so... _scared_... It took all my willpower to not just run over there and strangle the bastard with my bare hands. It's going to take a lot to make her okay again once she gets here.

_And there she is, thank god!_

I didn't even wait for her to climb in on her own, I took her hands and pulled her right in. I realized it was probably a bad idea about the time we both tumbled over, and knocked into an end table.

"Jesus, B. You're gonna wake up the whole town." She whispered, checking to see if I'm okay since she pretty much landed right on me.

"Are you okay?" I quickly asked. She looked at me with the hint of a smirk.

"I just crushed you, and you're askin' if _I'm_okay?"

"You know what I mean." I pouted. She sighed, and helped me up to my feet.

"It's good, I'm good. Just glad to be back here finally." She walked over to lie down on my bed, crossing her legs and sighing again. "Can we not talk about it? I wanna... be _here_, yunno? With you. It makes it better."

"Absolutely." I nodded, walking over to lay beside her. She wrapped an arm around my shoulder, pulling me close to her, and placed a kiss on the top of my head. I snuggled in to her, leaning my face against her neck and wrapping an arm around her stomach. I felt her chuckling a bit, and glanced up at her. "What?"

"Nothin'. Guess I just never thought I'd be the kinda girl to actually like gettin' cuddly and crap."

"You are okay with it though, right? I'm not smothering you?"

She rolled us over then so she was leaning over me, her lower body pressing against mine in a way that's starting to make me all kinds of uncomfortable in a very good way.

"Does it look like you're smotherin' me?"

"Not... anymore..."

"Then no worries." She smiled, gently kissing the side of my neck. She did that a few more times, then pulled back a little. "Is this okay?"

I nodded, unsure if I'd be able to form words anymore. She seemed to be having some sort of internal struggle for a minute, then she sighed and rolled over beside me. I turned to the side to look at her, concerned.

"What's wrong?"

"This doesn't feel right."

"It felt pretty right to me..." I tried to hide the worry on my face, worry that she's suddenly changed her mind about everything. It looks like there's something serious on her mind...

"Well, yeah it felt _right_." She smirked. "But...Y'know, you're just..." She sighed. "I come over here, and you're all concerned and it's wicked obvious you're thinkin' of ways to make me feel better. And here I am puttin' the moves on you. With your mom right in the other room, now that I think about it... Fuck."

She got up out of bed and ran a hand through her hair, letting out a long sigh. I got up and walked up behind her, wrapping my arms around her stomach and pulling her in close to me, leaning my head on her shoulder. I felt her immediately relax.

"Faith," I smiled, enjoying how much I seem to be able to do to her, and that she obviously doesn't seem to be having any doubts, "I love you. So, yes, I'm concerned and trying to help you feel better. And the whole putting the moves on me thing? Well, you can do that anytime you'd like. It's actually encouraged." She turned around in my grasp and wrapped her arms around my waist, bringing us closer together. "If you wanted to try out some more moves now... Well, I think that would be groovy."

"Groovy?" She grinned. "Way to get in touch with your inner flower child."

"You know what I mean."

"I do. But it still wouldn't feel right." She rested her forehead against mine, causing me to lose some focus on my surroundings. That seems to happen, the closer we get. "We should wait." She whispered.

"We should?" I glanced up at her.

"Yeah. Wait for the right time, right place... make it romantic and all that. It needs to be perfect."

"I think it will be perfect no matter what, because it's _us_."

She stared at me then for a long, long time, softly chewing on her lower lip like she's thinking hard about something. Finally she sighed and brought her arms around to reach my hands, holding them in her own.

"If I asked you to do something for me... Would you do it?"

"Anything." I responded, without hesitation.

"... Run away with me."

***FLASHBACK***

_The nine year old brunette girl is laying beside her ten year old blond friend, each in a sleeping bag, facing the window in the blond's bedroom, staring out at the stars._

_"How many do you think there are?" The blond asks, curiosity obvious in the young girl's voice._

_"I dunno. Probably like, a billion. Or a trillion." Her even younger friend responded, cocking her head to the side a little. "Wouldn't it be cool to sleep outside? We'd be able to see them so much better, and try counting all of them. We could be the first people on earth to count every star in the solar system!"_

_"That probably isn't even possible. Wouldn't somebody have done it already?" The older girl sat up a bit, leaning on her elbow to look at her friend, who then did the same."Besides, my mom won't let us sleep outside."_

_"So we could sneak out." The brunette smiled, mischief in her eyes - though that isn't anything unusual. "Admit it, you know it would be wicked cool!" She got up out of her sleeping bag then, reaching over to help her older friend up out of hers. "C'mon, I have an idea."_

_"Those usually don't end well..." The blond frowned, nervous about whatever scheme her friend had thought up._

_The younger girl walked them over to the window, opened it up and began to climb outside, offering a hand to her older friend._

_"What are you doing?"_

_"Ssh! Come on, we can get up on to the roof from here, then we'll really have a good view of the stars!"_

_"My mom is so gonna kill us if we get caught!"_

_"So let's not get caught."_

_The younger girl grinned, and though she wasn't yet mature enough for her dimples to give off their full effect, the older girl had no choice but to give in to it. She'd always liked her best friend's grin, so it always managed to get her to do anything the other girl wanted._

_"Fine. But if my mom catches us, you're taking all the blame."_

_"Anything you say."_

_So Faith helped Buffy out the window and on to the little ledge that was connected to the roof. In fact, it could be argued that they were already on the roof just sitting where they were. The older girl was too afraid to climb any higher up anyways, and her younger friend didn't want to push her. So there they sat, looking up at more than twice as many stars as they were able to see before._

_"I guess this is pretty cool."_

_"Told ya."_

_The pair sat up on the "roof", watching the stars for a good part of the night. They didn't care that they'd be dead tired in the morning, or that there was the inherent risk of falling and breaking some bones in their body. Well, Faith didn't care, at least. Buffy cared, but she trusted her best friend to keep her safe. She'd learned long ago that the younger girl would protect her at all costs._

_"Hey, B?" The brunette asked, after quite a long period of silence._

_"Yeah?"_

_"You ever think of just... I dunno... leavin' everything behind?"_

_"Like how?" The blond asked, curious as to where the question had come from._

_"Like, just pickin' up and leavin' town one day. Leave all the rules, and limits, and my stupid dad behind. Just starting fresh." The younger girl had closed her eyes, images of a new life with promise filling her mind. She glanced over to find her friend giving her an understanding look, nodding her head slightly as if considering it. "Would you go with me?"_

_"I'd never let you go alone." The older girl stated firmly. "You're my best friend." The two shared a smile, knowing even then that nothing would be able to sever the friendship they had, or keep them apart. Little did they know just how close they would become in the future... "Where would we go?"_

_"Anywhere." The brunette grinned, loving the idea of starting a new life with her best friend. "Everywhere."_

_"Let's do it." The blond nodded, also taking extreme delight in the thought. "Once we're a little older, and we've saved up some money, we'll just get on a bus one day and go wherever we want."_

_"Promise?" The younger girl asked, her stomach doing flips in excitement. She didn't know how she got lucky enough to make such an incredible friend._

_"Promise." The blond smiled, reaching her hand out for a handshake. "Now let's get back inside before my mom notices how quiet we've been."_

_"Right." The brunette grinned, helping her friend up after their handshake, which had solidified their future plans. "Normally we've got her awake and yellin' at us, like, 3 times by this time. C'mon."_

_And so Faith helped Buffy back into her bedroom, the pair retreating to their sleeping bags and closing their eyes to try and get some sleep, thoughts of the promise they'd made running through their minds._

***END FLASHBACK***

tbc...**  
**


End file.
